Cathedral signs top occupiers for town centre regeneration

Wed 13 February 2013, 9:54 pm

Developer Cathedral Group's plans for the £90m mixed-use regeneration of Bromley town centre have taken a significant step forward following agreements with some of the UK’s leading hotel and leisure operators.

Bromley South Central: occupiers sign up

Bromley South Central, which was given planning consent in March 2012. will create an entertainment hub in the heart of Bromley town centre.

And in a sign of private sector confidence and positive interest from occupiers in the re-development plans, Cathedral has confirmed that it has:

signed a lease agreement with Premier Inn, the UK’s largest hotel operator, to open a 130 bedroom hotel at the south end of Bromley High Street;

entered into a lease agreement with Vue Cinema, one of the UK’s leading cinema developers and operators of multiplex cinemas, to establish a new nine screen multiplex cinema as the centrepiece of the scheme;

signed up the Latin American restaurant chain Las Iguanas and the Italian restaurant Prezzo, as the first occupiers in in 25,000 square feet of new café and restaurant space to be delivered in town centre;

reached advanced negotiations with national brands in relation to a further five restaurant units.

Richard Upton, Cathedral Group chief executive, said: ”The response from occupiers to our scheme has been very encouraging and, together with our partners at the London Borough of Bromley, we are well on track to deliver a vibrant, new leisure destination in the heart of Bromley.

“The new cinema and restaurants will bring more people into the town centre and generate increased footfall and consumer spending for the benefit of local retailers and other businesses.”

The proposed scheme will see the existing 1960s Westmoreland Road car park demolished and replaced by a new landscaped plaza, around which the cinema, cafés, restaurants and other amenities will be grouped, providing an attractive and managed environment.

In addition, 200 private and affordable apartments will be delivered as well as a 400 space underground car park.

Cathedral says its proposals will create 220 jobs in Bromley and inject at least £220m into the local economy over the next 10 years,

Pre-construction planning is now in its final stages and Cathedral expects work to commence on site in Spring 2013.